Jessie and the Frozen Points
Jessie and the Frozen Points is the twenty-second story of the first volume. Plot It was wintertime on the Island of Sodor. There was little snow, but it was very cold. Every day, Drivers and Firemen came to work wrapped up in scarves and jerseys. "Thank goodness for shovelling coal," said Jessie's Fireman, as he built up the fire. Norman on the other hand was ready for work. "I'm off to the Yard." "All right. See you in a bit." Norman rolled away. It wasn't long till Jessie had enough steam and puffed out of the shed and towards the Yard. She often helped out at the Big Station, especially at busy times. She did a great deal of shunting then took empty trucks up to Ffarquhar. When she returned in the afternoon, she found empty coaches at the platform. "My, more trains must have been added," she thought. She quickly rounded up the coaches and took them into the sidings. That night, she arrived late at Tidmouth Sheds. Norman was already there looking exhausted. "Today was very busy," he told her. "Trains just kept coming and going. I could sure use your help." "I'll be here as often as I can," promised Jessie. The next day, it was frostier than ever, but work had to carry on. Jessie and Norman had just brought coaches to the platform when a diesel engine rolled up. "Hullo. I'm Norman. What brings you here?" "I'm from the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. Sir Topham Hatt sent for me. He said you need help." "Definitely," smiled Jessie. "Despite the weather, the railway is still busy. I'm Jessie by the way." "Very nice to meet you. Are you just about to depart?" asked the diesel. "No, these are James's coaches. I have more work to do here." "So you two are pilot engines?" "Yes," replied Norman. "I help out whenever I can. I also have jobs to do on the Ffarquhar Branch." "Very interesting," said the diesel. "I haven't seen steam engines as pilot engines before." "I understand," said Jessie. "Its just, diesel engines are much quicker to start, so back at my railway, we only use diesel engines as shunters." "Well, it's different everywhere," continued Jessie. "Indeed. I'll be glad to help you two out." Just then the Fat Controller came out. "Good to see you," he told the diesel. "I can see you've all met. Now Jessie, I need you to take more empty trucks to Ffarquhar. Norman and the diesel can handle things there." "All right. I'm on my way," replied Jessie. As she steamed past the Junction, Jessie thought about what the diesel had said. "Norman is always ready before me," she thought. "I could never be in steam before he's ready." And although she knew the Fat Controller would never send her away, she did worry. At Ffarquhar, Toby was waiting. "Thanks for bringing these. Now because of the extremely cold weather, Mavis will handle the stone train today. But you have work at the Big Station." "Yeah. I guess I do." "Well, stay warm!" Toby trundled away and Jessie puffed into the shed. Just then, Liza came up. "Hey Jessie. How is your day so far?" "It's been all right." "You look a bit upset. What's the matter?" "Well, there's this new diesel helping out the Big Station. He made me realise that I take a long time to get ready compared to Norman." "You know you're really useful." "I know, but I can't help worrying." "You're not just a really good shunter. You can pull trucks and coaches too. You could work almost anywhere on Sodor." Jessie smiled a bit. "Thanks." "Why don't I clean you a bit?" "You just want to keep moving, don't you?" "I sure do! If I stand any longer, my legs will freeze up!" Liza fetched some rags and clambered up Jessie. "There. That's what I call shiny," she said at last. Just then Jessie's Driver and Fireman came back. "I also put more sand into her sand-box," said Liza. "Very nice job," replied the Fireman. "Do you want to help build her fire?" "Yeah. No problem." "She just wants to stand next to a roaring fire," chuckled Jessie. "Doesn't everyone?" put in the Driver. They all laughed and soon Jessie was ready to go. "All right. Take care!" called Liza. "You too," replied Jessie. She worked the rest of the day at the Big Station with Norman and the new diesel. "You really know your stuff," said the diesel, impressed. Jessie just smiled and carried on working. As night approached, it began to get even colder. "I wouldn't be surprised if we're below zero," said Emily. "Next thing you know, we're all going to have icicles hanging from our funnels," put in James. "Just be glad there's no snow," said Paxton. "Just thinking about that makes me shiver," said Emily. Then, Molly arrived with train of coal trucks. "I think about coal to keep me warm," she chuckled. "Coal makes fire which is warm. Who doesn't?" concluded Emily. All the steam engines were left with a warming fire. "At least I shan't freeze tonight," said Gordon. "And we'll be ready to go in the morning," added Duck. The next morning, Norman and the diesel rolled out of the shed and over to the Yard to arrange the trains as usual. They found the Signalman and workmen inspecting the track. "What's going on?" asked Norman. "It was so cold last night that the points are frozen solid," explained the Signalman. "Now, the sun will melt the ice, but we don't have time to waste." "If we can't get into the Yard, how are we suppose to fetch the trains?" asked the new diesel. "We just have to find a quicker way to melt the ice," said the Signalman. He hurried over to the sheds and explained the situation. "Rock salt?" suggested Duck. "Maybe," replied the Signalman. "Wait, I have an idea," said Jessie. "What is it?" "Well, when Toby rescued Mavis after she got stuck at the level-crossing, his Fireman used hot cinders to melt the ice that was present at the scene." "That's a great idea!" By now, Jessie had steam up and she puffed quickly over to the Yard. "Don't worry. Everything will be all right," she said. Jessie's Fireman used her fire to melt the ice. Soon enough, all the points had been unfrozen. "Now let's get all the trains arranged," said Jessie. Once they had finished their work, the three engines stopped for a rest. "Your idea to melt the ice was great," said the diesel. "And neither of us could've done it since we don't have fireboxes," put in Norman. "Now you can see how steam engines are useful too," finished Jessie. The new diesel had to agree. Characters *Gordon *James *Toby *Duck *Emily *Molly *Jessie *Paxton *Norman *Haverthwaite and Lakeside Class 11 diesel (unnamed) *Sir Topham Hatt *Liza *Mavis (mentioned) Locations *Tidmouth *Knapford *Ffarquhar Trivia *Jessie references the events of Mavis from Tramway Engines. *The original title of this episode was simply Frozen Points. *The Writer has mentioned that the original idea for this episode was to simply have the points be unfrozen by Jessie's fire. However, during a viewing of Thomas's Day Off came the idea to have a bit more prior to that and having Jessie be a bit doubtful as well as point out the difference in time it takes for diesel engines and steam engines to get ready. Category:Adventures on Rails Category:Episodes